Multiple Myeloma Archives

Plasma cells are cells in the immune system that make antibodies, which help the body fight infection and disease. Multiple myeloma cells are abnormal plasma cells (a type of white blood cell) that build up in the bone marrow and form tumors in many bones of the body.

More resources for Multiple Myeloma from Patient Empowerment Network.

Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Myeloma Patients?

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Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Myeloma Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 Should myeloma patients get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Dr. Joshua Richter encourages all patients to get the vaccine but notes important considerations around treatment.

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From Engage Myeloma

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Myeloma Treatment Decisions: What Should Be Considered?

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An Expert’s Take on Promising Myeloma Treatment and Research

Transcript:

Katherine:

Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for patients with myeloma?

Dr. Richter:

Absolutely, 100 percent yes. Everybody with myeloma should absolutely get the vaccine. What’s a little more complicated is the timing of it. So, one is in relation to stem cell transplant or CAR T-cell therapy. If you’ve had one of these, obviously, consult with your provider. But the general recommendation is to wait about 60 to 90 days after a high-dose therapy like that. And it’s not a question of safety, it’s a question of efficacy. Vaccines are like vegetables, seeds, you have to put them in the ground to grow. If you give yourself a vaccine right after a stem cell transplant, well, your bone marrow is not ready to work with it. It’s like planting a seed in the desert.

You want to make sure your immune system can take in that vaccine and give you immunity. So, you have to wait at least 60 to 90 days. The other question is, what happens if you’re getting continual therapy? And we don’t know the answer for most of these drugs, but one of the things is dexamethasone (Decadron), which is a steroid. Almost all myeloma therapy comes with some steroids. And we like to separate the vaccine from the steroid dose by a little bit if we can. Again, always important to talk with your care team as to risk/benefit about holding certain treatments.

An Expert’s Take on Promising Myeloma Treatment and Research

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An Expert’s Take on Promising Myeloma Treatment and Research from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 Myeloma research is advancing quickly. Dr. Joshua Richter, a myeloma expert, shares his excitement about emerging treatments in development.

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From Engage Myeloma

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What Standard Testing Follows a Myeloma Diagnosis?

Transcript:

Katherine:

When it comes to myeloma research and emerging treatment options, what are you most excited about, specifically?

Dr. Richter:

So, I think the big thing that I’m excited about from myeloma that we’re on the cusp of is T-cell engagers and T-cell based therapies. And, essentially, we all have T cells in our body, and T cells are a part of our immune system. They attack bacteria, viruses, and cancer.

And one of the best cancer fighters that exists is our own immune system. And the old way of treating cancer and blood cancers like myeloma was just to give medicines that suppressed all of the immune system, the good and the bad. Now, we’re trying to be more precise, and there’s certain parts of the immune system that we don’t want down, we want up. So, they help attack the cancer.

And the two biggest technologies are something called CAR T and something called bispecific antibodies. CAR T stands for chimeric antigen receptor T cells.

And, basically, what that is is we collect your T cells, we engineer them in the lab to rev them up and target the cancer. And we can put them back into you and they attack the cancer, very exciting. And then we have something called a bispecific antibody that has two arms. And as we infuse this medicine into you, one arm grabs onto the cancer cell, the other arm grabs onto your T cell and makes that T cell activate and attack the cancer cell.

And a lot of these drugs are in clinical trials as well. So, we’re very excited about moving from, you know, just lowering everything, the good and the bad, to being more precise and saying, no, no, no. There are some cells that we want way, way up.

Katherine:

Right. Right. So, you’re – you’re being much more specific now.

Dr. Richter:

Mm-hmm.

Myeloma Treatment: When Should a Clinical Trial Be Considered?

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Myeloma Treatment: When Should a Clinical Trial Be Considered? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 At what point should a clinical trial be an option for myeloma treatment? Dr. Joshua Richter shares his perspective on the appropriate time to weigh clinical trial participation and the potential benefits.

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From Engage Myeloma

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Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Myeloma Patients?

Transcript:

Katherine:

When should a clinical trial be considered for myeloma treatment?

Dr. Richter:

So, clinical trials are an extremely important component of how we manage myeloma. And I think there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about trials. Trials are not always things to do after everything else failed. From my standpoint, at every point along the way, we should always consider clinical trials, because they offer something really amazing. They offer us access to drugs way before they’re approved.

And the benefit of not waiting until the end, after you’ve been through everything else, is two-fold. One, in order to get on a trial, you need to fit certain criteria, inclusion, and exclusion criteria. You need to have myeloma, but you can’t be so sick from other medical problems that you’re not going to tolerate that treatment well. As such, unfortunately, some patients after they’ve been through all the other therapies may not qualify for a clinical trial, and that can be really upsetting.

The other benefit of doing a clinical trial early on is if you go on a new drug and it doesn’t work, you have all of the other standard of care options available at a moment’s notice. But if it does work and you gain access to a drug way before it’s approved, and it happens to work extremely well in you, you can have an unbelievably long remission and still have all of the drugs that are available. And, potentially, in that time on the drug, new standard of care drugs are approved. It even deepens the well that you can reach into to grab more options. So, at all times along the way, it’s always important to weigh the risks and benefits of what we call standard of care treatment versus clinical trial options.

Which Myeloma Patients Should Consider Stem Cell Transplant?

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Which Myeloma Patients Should Consider Stem Cell Transplant? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 Which myeloma patient is stem cell transplant most appropriate for? Dr. Joshua Richter reviews the factors that go into the decision, as well as the risks and benefits of this treatment approach.

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From Engage Myeloma

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Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Myeloma Patients?

Transcript:

How do you determine if stem cell transplant is appropriate?Katherine:

Dr. Richter:

So, stem cell transplant has been a key component for the treatment of myeloma for many patients for decades.

It’s a tool; it is not the only tool. So, it’s a very complex decision deciding who should receive a transplant and who should not. Outside of the U.S., there are very strict guidelines. In many places in the world, over the age of 65, you do not receive a transplant outside of being involved in a clinical trial.

In the U.S., there is no age restriction. But it’s an ongoing discussion between the patient and their care team about the risks and benefits. The older you are and/or the other comorbidities you have, other medical problems, may make it too risky to do. There are some people that we can control their disease for extremely long times without the need for transplant. One of the things that weighs into it is how well did you respond to your first therapy. We have some emerging data that if you have such a great response to your initial treatment that you have no measurable disease at all even in the bone marrow, you may not even need a transplant.

So, the decision of who needs it and who doesn’t is evolving. From my standpoint, I consider it for any person who is healthy enough to go through it and who has a clear understanding of the risks and benefits.

I’m a strong proponent of it, but because there are such great new drugs, it’s a moving target.

Myeloma Treatment Decisions: What Should Be Considered?

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Myeloma Treatment Decisions: What Should Be Considered? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

When deciding on a myeloma treatment, what factors affect your choice? Dr. Joshua Richter shares key considerations, the patient role in making decisions, as well as key questions to ask about treatment

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From Engage Myeloma

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Which Myeloma Patients Should Consider Stem Cell Transplant?

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Transcript:

Katherine:

Dr. Richter, would you please start by introducing yourself?

Dr. Richter:

Sure, my name is Dr. Joshua Richter. I’m an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Tisch Cancer Institute Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Director of Myeloma at The Blavatnik Family Medical Center at Chelsea at Mount Sinai.

Katherine:

Great. Thank you. When making a treatment choice, what are three key considerations for myeloma patients?

Dr. Richter:

Absolutely. So, whenever we decide on treatment options, we consider three main topics: patient-related factors, disease-related factors, and treatment-related factors. So, patient-related factors are easy. How old or young are you? How fit or frail? Do you have any comorbidities, meaning other medical problems like heart disease or diabetes?

Disease-related factors are another important one. How aggressive is your disease? Is it rising up very quickly? Is it very slowly? Do you have something that we call extramedullary disease which means myeloma outside the bone marrow in the mass that we call a plasmacytoma? And that influences how we treat things.

And the last is treatment-related factors. What treatments have you, previously, had, how did you respond to them, and what side effects did you have?

If you developed a lot of neuropathy with one drug, we may not want to choose a drug that continues to have that type of side effect profile.

Katherine:

What’s the role as a patient in making treatment decisions?

Dr. Richter:

The role, from my standpoint of the patient, is honesty. You don’t get extra points for being in pain. I want to hear from you. I want you to tell me what your concerns are, short-term, long-term. I want you to tell me about little problems that you don’t – it’s not that you don’t want to bother your care team, we want to know.

Because something little may mean something big to us. So, all we want is for your well-being. And the better we keep those lines of communication open, the better.

Katherine:

Are there questions that patients should consider asking about their treatment plans?

Dr. Richter:

Absolutely. I think in a day and age where there’s so many different options, I think it’s always important to ask the care provider, what are the alternatives to this? Or why did you select this treatment for me? Because many times, there are alternative answers. So, in myeloma, there are a lot of options that may be good for someone. And the physician team may say we recommend this drug, and the patient may have trouble getting back and forth to clinic for logistical reasons. And there may be an all-oral alternative that if you don’t ask, we may not know that that’s going to be your preference. So, really that dialog is crucial.

What Standard Testing Follows a Myeloma Diagnosis?

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What Standard Testing Follows a Myeloma Diagnosis? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

What tests will you have following a myeloma diagnosis? Are there additional tests you should request? Dr. Joshua Richter provides an overview of key testing for myeloma and why each test is necessary.

Dr. Joshua Richter is director of Multiple Myeloma at the Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Learn more about Dr. Richter, here.

See More From INSIST! Myeloma

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Transcript:

Katherine:

What standard testing follows a myeloma diagnosis?

Dr. Richter:

So, the standard testing that follows a myeloma diagnosis is multifaceted. So, the first one is blood work. And we draw a lot of blood tests to look at the bad protein that the cancer cells make. So, we send tests like a protein electrophoresis which tells us how high that bad protein is. We send immunofixation. That test tells us what type of bad protein it is. You’ll hear names like IgG kappa and IgA lambda.

These are the different types of bad proteins made by myeloma cells. Oftentimes, we’ll send urine tests to find out how much of that bad protein that was in the blood is coming out in the urine. We will, typically, do a bone marrow biopsy. It’s a test where we put a needle into the back of the hip bone to look at the marrow itself. And we’ll use that marrow to figure out how much myeloma there is, any other characteristics like the genetic changes in those cells.

The other big thing is imaging. So, the classic imaging that we do with myeloma is something called a skeletal survey. It’s, basically, a listing of X-rays from head to toe. But nowadays, we have newer techniques, things like whole body low-dose CAT scans, something called a PET-CT scan, and MRI scans. And your care team may have to figure out which one is right for you at what given time.

Katherine:

Mm-hmm. Are there additional tests that patients should ask for?

Dr. Richter:

Absolutely. One of the most important things from myeloma has to do with the genetic risk stratification.

So, for almost all cancers, the staging has a very big impact. And people will often think of cancer in stages I, II, III, and IV, and they’re managed very differently depending upon what stage it is. Myeloma has three stages, stage I, II, and III. But the most important thing is, actually, beyond the staging is what’s called the cytogenetics risk stratification. So, it’s really important when the bone marrow is sent to be sure that it is sent for, kind of, advanced techniques. Because you really want that snapshot of exactly what the genetic profile is, because that gives us information of A) how to treat, and B) prognostic, you know, who will tend to do better or worse based on this information. And even though that may not tell us which drugs to use, specifically, it may say, should we do something like a transplant or not? Should we consider a clinical trial early or not?

Katherine:

I see. How do test results affect treatment choices?

Dr. Richter:

So, test results can affect treatment choices in a number of ways. Probably, the most common one is thinking about the routine blood tests like your CBC or complete blood count and your chemistry, which looks at things like your kidney function. Some drugs tend to have more toxicity to the blood counts. So, if your blood counts are very low, we may choose drugs that don’t lower the blood counts very much.

Kidney function which we, usually, measure by something called the creatinine. Creatinine is made by the muscles and cleared out by the kidneys. So, if your kidneys aren’t working very well, you don’t pee out creatinine, and that creatinine level will rise in the blood. If your creatinine level is high, we may choose certain drugs that don’t affect the kidneys or not metabolized or broken down by the kidneys.

The genetic studies that we use – we’re not quite at this base yet where we can say, if you have this genetic abnormality in your myeloma, we should use this drug except there’s some really great data on the cutting edge about a drug called venetoclax.

Venetoclax is a pill that’s used to treat other diseases like lymphoma and leukemia. And it turns out that people who have what’s called a translocation (11:14) which means part of the 11th chromosome and part of the 14th chromosome in the cancer cells swap material.

Those people respond amazingly well to venetoclax. So, we’re starting to have what we would call precision medicine where we find your genetic abnormalities, not that you got from your parents or passed to your kids, but the genetics inside the tumor cells to tell us which treatments will work best for you.

What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Cancer Treatment

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What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Cancer Treatment from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Download Guide

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What steps could help you and your doctor decide on the best treatment path for your specific cancer? This animated video explains how identification of unique features of a specific cancer through biomarker testing could impact prognosis, treatment decisions and enable patients to get the best, most personalized cancer care.

If you are viewing this from outside of the US, please be aware that availability of personalized care and therapy may differ in each country. Please consult with your local healthcare provider for more information.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Dr. Jones:

Hi! I’m Dr. Jones and I’m an oncologist and researcher. I specialize in the care and treatment of patients with cancer. 

Today we’re going to talk about the steps to accessing personalized care and the best therapy for YOUR specific cancer. And that begins with something called biomarker testing.

Before we start, I want to remind you that this video is intended to help educate cancer patients and their loved ones and shouldn’t be a replacement for advice from your doctor.

Let’s start with the basics–just like no two fingerprints are exactly alike, no two patients’ cancers are exactly the same. For instance, let’s meet Louis and another patient of mine, Ben. They both have the same type of cancer and were diagnosed around the same time–but when looked at up close, their cancers look very different.  And, therefore, should be treated differently.

We can look more closely at the cancer type using biomarker testing, which checks for specific gene mutations, proteins, chromosomal abnormalities and/or other molecular changes that are unique to an individual’s disease.

Sometimes called molecular testing or genomic testing, biomarker testing can be administered in a number of ways, such as via a blood test or biopsy. The way testing is administered will depend on YOUR specific situation.

The results could help your healthcare team understand how your cancer may behave and to help plan treatment. And, it may indicate whether targeted therapy might be right for you. When deciding whether biomarker testing is necessary, your doctor will also take into consideration the stage of your cancer at diagnosis.

Louis:

Right! My biomarker testing results showed that I had a specific gene mutation and that my cancer may respond well to targeted therapy.

Dr. Jones, Can you explain how targeted therapy is different than chemo?

Dr. Jones:

Great question! Over the past several years, research has advanced quickly in developing targeted therapies, which has led to more effective options and better outcomes for patients.

Chemotherapy is still an important tool for cancer treatment, and it works by affecting a cancer cell’s ability to divide and grow. And, since cancer cells typically grow faster than normal cells, chemotherapy is more likely to kill cancer cells.

Targeted therapy, on the other hand, works by blocking specific mutations and preventing cancer cells from growing and dividing.

These newer therapies are currently being used to treat many blood cancers as well as solid tumor cancers.  As you consider treatments, it’s important to have all of the information about your diagnosis, including biomarker testing results, so that you can discuss your treatment options and goals WITH your healthcare team.

Louis:

Exactly–Dr. Jones made me feel that I had a voice in my treatment decision. We discussed things like potential side effects, what the course of treatment looks like and how it may affect my lifestyle.

When meeting with your healthcare team, insist that all of your questions are answered. Remember, this is YOUR life and it’s important that you feel comfortable and included when making care decisions. 

Dr. Jones:

And, if you don’t feel your voice is being heard, it may be time to consider a second—or third—opinion from a doctor who specializes in the type of cancer you have. 

So how can you use this information to access personalized treatment?

First, remember, no two cancers are the same. What might be right for someone else’s cancer may not work for you.

Next! Be sure to ask if biomarker testing is appropriate for your diagnosis. Then, discuss all test results with your provider before making a treatment decision. And ask whether testing will need to be repeated over time to identify additional biomarkers.

Your treatment choice should be a shared decision with your healthcare team. Discuss what your options and treatment goals are with your doctor.

And, last, but not least, it’s important to inquire about whether a targeted therapy, or a clinical trial, might be appropriate for you. Clinical trials may provide access to promising new treatments.

Louis:

All great points, Dr. Jones! We hope you can put this information to work for you. Visit powerfulpatients.org to learn more tips for advocating for yourself.

Dr. Jones:

Thanks for joining us today. 

This program is supported by Blueprint Medicines, and through generous donations from people like you.

Myeloma Testing and Treatment: Insist on Better Care

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In this podcast, Charise Gleason a nurse practitioner, provides an overview of myeloma. Charise discusses necessary myeloma testing, how test results may affect treatment options, and why patients should ask questions and seek advice from their healthcare team without hesitation.

About the Guest:
Charise Gleason is a nurse practitioner specializing in myeloma and serves as the Advanced Practice Provider Chief at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Learn more about Charise, here.

Don’t miss an episode and subscribe to PEN’s Empowered! Podcast wherever podcasts are available.

Telemedicine & Second Opinion Options

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TelemEDicine ToolBox _Remote Second Opinions

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How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?

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How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

What impact has telemedicine had on multiple myeloma clinical trials, and what effect will it have on trials in the future? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael explains the impact of telemedicine early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, how he uses virtual visits with his patients currently, and the role and benefits of telehealth in the future of myeloma care.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

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Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?
 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in just about every way imaginable, and in multiple myeloma, sadly has very much impacted our ability to conduct clinical trials. Thankfully, now that we are out of the immediate acute phase when many trials were suspended, we actually have been able to work around this in general, where now we’ve been able to re-introduce studies and bring in new studies, of course, and we can do so in a more careful manner. Many of our clinical trials now are allowing intermittently to have telemedicine visits, which reduces the traffic for patients and makes it a little bit smoother. Some of the questionnaires and the things that we used to have to fill out on paper or physically in-person now can be done electronically, and so I think in many respects, we’ve really overcome most of the barriers so that we can continue the outstanding work and clinical trials to provide options for our patients that were not available before.

And looking to the future, I hope, even paradoxically in some way that this may — now that we’ve developed a more sophisticated telemedicine platform — it may allow us to do more and perhaps reach patients that may not have been reached before, there are already studies and trials that are being done through telemedicine, not necessarily a drug trial but quality of life studies, engagement studies, educational studies, different ways that we can enhance a patient’s experience and investigate better ways of doing things now that we can do so more fully electronically.

So, when I think of telemedicine and the future in multiple myeloma, I think it will continue to have a role in the long term. I think, much like people think that there will be more virtual meetings, I think we all want to get back to in-person meetings of various types and sizes and shapes, there will always be a component of virtual, and I can think even in my own practice and some patients that have quite a long drive to come down to see me, that they will still have to have face-to-face visits, but intermittently when the things are going well, follow-up like visits where the discussion may be limited.

I think there will be a role for this so that we can leverage the best of telemedicine and the best of in-person medicine so that the patients can receive the best care possible.

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?

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What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit Most From Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

Which multiple myeloma patients will benefit most from telemedicine visits, and which patients can get more from in-person visits? Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares information on how to ensure the best myeloma care even during pandemic restrictions and how in-person visits have adjusted to limit COVID exposure risk.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

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Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?
 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

When it comes to making a decision around, do I need to go into the clinic or can I do this as a telemedicine visit, of course, that has to be discussed with the healthcare team, but a few things we’ve learned through this pandemic.

And perhaps one of the most important things we’ve learned through the pandemic is that controlling one’s disease, controlling one’s myeloma is critical to protecting people against COVID, sadly, many of our patients who have struggled the most with COVID are those who had very active myeloma. So, we emphasize the importance of making sure that one continues to receive the best myeloma care possible, and very often that is going to involve an in-person visit, not only for discussion, but, of course, for the actual receiving of treatment. Secondly, I think it’s very important for us to note that we really have not seen significant spread of COVID or almost any infection within our hematology-oncology clinics, we’ve taken particular precaution around this area. So, this is different than someone maybe going out to a more public place where the risks may be higher. And so, we try to reassure our patients that coming into clinic actually is really not a high-risk situation and, in fact, perhaps lower risk than ever in light of the fact that many of our waiting areas and places where we have patients have been restructured and have fewer patients because of telemedicine visits.

And then thirdly, and very importantly, whether it’s telemedicine or in-person, it’s really important to maintain open, honest, and clear communication with the healthcare team. And if that is felt that it’s being done to a certain extent in telemedicine, fantastic, but there are situations where it’s challenging and difficult and really must be face-to-face. And so I would want to encourage my patients not to be afraid to go in to receive treatment and to meet with their healthcare team. These are generally very safe places that we take special precautions to ensure their patients can receive the best care possible.

Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

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Are There Any Barriers For Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

Along with all the benefits of multiple myeloma care via telemedicine, there are some obstacles that providers run into as well. Myeloma expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael details his experience with telehealth barriers in caring for his patients.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

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Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?
 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

So there are several limitations to telemedicine, despite better technology and camera strength and Wi-Fi, and we’re removing all those distractions, it really is limited by not being able to physically be present with a patient, which means we can’t examine patients, which means we can’t hug our patients, I’m a hugger as an oncologist, I like to get close to my patients, and then of course, there are those things that don’t always convey themselves easily over a camera or a computer.

The emotion in the room, the tension, the fear, many of my patients experience fear being cancer patients, and so telemedicine can be very helpful when we have more straightforward follow-ups and questions, but initially building a bond with the patient and having very considerable discussions about one’s treatment and on symptoms, it is always going to be limited in a telemedicine capacity

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

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What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some ways that patients and providers can make the most of multiple myeloma telemedicine visits? Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares things that he has found helpful in interacting via telehealth visits with his patients and how he tries to approach different types of visits.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

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Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?
 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

Well, the best practices for telemedicine are really going to depend on the nature of the clinic, the way the provider likes to interact with their patients, and the way the patients like to interact with them. I think one of the beauties of the multiple platforms we have is that we can leverage them, that beautiful connection that we develop between a physician or a provider and their patient, we can continue obviously not to the same extent that using electronic means, and so I’ve really tried to make sure that I don’t look at this as a half visit or as a partial visit.

I think psychologically is my first important tip that we look at this as another very important physician-patient interaction. Secondly, I try to make sure that my patients are comfortable with this modality, that we’ve had time to work through the technology, so we’re not worrying about who’s on mute, who’s not on mute, so that when we discuss things, we can discuss things properly, and that thirdly, we as much as possible, try to engage a full visit, whether a family member is going to be with the patient, whether a nurse practitioner, a nurse or pharmacist is going to join me on this side, that we really try to reproduce what we know works well in the clinic.

So, that the patient can feel comfortable so that they can be heard, because sometimes it’s difficult when you’re on the other side of a computer or phone to really be heard.

So psychologically, being prepared for this and getting into the specifics of making sure we’re comfortable with the technology, and then thirdly, really as much as possible, trying to reproduce that magic that we feel like when we have a face-to-face interaction.